If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Bjorn Apiaries - Russian Bees

Thanks to all who responded. I am considering trying Bjorn Apiaries because they are only a couple of hours from where I live and their bees are bred for a climate similar to mine. They sell nucs which I can pick up and should allow my colony to establish itself a little more quickly than if I used package bees. If anybody else has had experience with Bjorn, I would like to hear about it.

Re: Russian Bees

From all i have heard and read you have probably made a good choice in dealing with Bjorn. I also think you made the right decision to avoid 'Long Creek', he still owes me $140.00 for 5 queens i ordered last year. After six calls and six bs stories it just got to where it wasn't worth it.

Re: Russian Bees

Thanks to all who responded to my post.

Wherever I get my bees it will not be from Bjorn Apiaries. I contacted Mike Thomas at Bjorn to enquire about purchasing a nuc and while doing so asked about the availability of a certificate of health for the bees to meet Delaware's permitting requirements for importing bees into the state. I received in a return a diatribe about how archaic Delaware's bee laws were and that no other state has the requirements that Delaware has. In the course of two other e-mail exchanges I pointed out that Pennsylvania's bee importation regulations were more stringent than Delaware's (including pasting the relevant part into the e-mail), he continued to rail against Delaware's laws and said that Pennsylvania's law was different even though that clearly was not true. I know that several others have purchased bees from him and are very happy with his services, however I think he is a little unstable and I don't know if I can trust what he tells me.

Re: Russian Bees

humm bjorn... now there is a piece of work.

It is my understanding that to ship bees interstate in the us a health permit (here issued by the Apairy Inspection Service) is required. Actually here anyone who owns more than 10 hives must also have an intrastate permit to move bees across county lines.

I am curious (cat's being curious beast... don't ya' know) as to what kind of requirements the State of Delaware requires and how are they might differ from what is required in Pennsylvania? I would guess this tidbit might be a bit off topic so if you feel it is TOO off topic simply email me what you know.

Re: Russian Bees

In Delaware a permit is required to import bees into the state. To obtain a permit, a certificate of health for the bees to be imported must be submitted to the state apiarist that is a result of an inspection by the exporting state within 60 days of the importation. I asked Delaware's state apiarist about getting permits and attached below is his reply as to how the system is supposed to work:

"Mr. Davis,

This is the way the process SHOULD work;

The purchaser supplies the vendor with all of the pertinent information (name, mailing address, location of colony, etc) The vendor then forwards the information to his inspector/inspection service to process. The state of origin regulatory office then submits the permit request and information to the receiving states regulatory office. All of that paperwork will be handled by the sending/receiving states inspection service.

Nucleus colonies are considered to be a colony of bees, and the process is the same as with transporting 1 colony or 500 colonies across state lines.

Your annual registration form is available on-line, or I can mail a copy directly to you. A copy will automatically come to you with your permit.

The process does break down when the purchaser or vendor fails to comply with the state laws.

You will not require a permit in the event you purchase or transport a colony within the state of DE.

This may sound complex, it really is not. All of the surrounding states have streamlined the process, use e-mail and send documents electronically. This simply allows us “regulatory” type folks to maintain a “paper trail” in the event a problem surfaces at a later date.

You can actually transport the nucleus colony at any time, provided the vendor has a valid inspection certificate, and has submitted the request to their states inspection/regulatory agent.

Additionally, all of this is important to “track” numbers of colonies being transported from state-to-state. The regulatory offices are the ONLY entities that maintain any type of data or statistics as to the interstate transport of honey bee colonies. The industry benefits from the data when they use it for promotional purposes (the National Honey Board) or to request research funding for the USDA agriculture Research Service labs located in Beltsville, MD, Baton Rouge LA, or Weslaco TX. And numerous other similar uses.

The bottom line is; the regulatory folks do not want to be “big brother” and control the what, when or how any individual keeps bees. We are charged with preventing the spread of diseases, pests and parasites, and protecting the consumer (purchaser) of the colony, protecting the states pollination resource, and providing data to the states and USDA agriculture statistics service. (Please note: your information is confidential and protected) Any info that we divulge is “lumped” into a large database, so there is no way any other entity could be able to extrapolate a single specific beekeepers information.

I hope this will help you to better understand the how’s and why’s of the process."

I have been in contact with a commercial beekeeper in Delaware who supplies bees of mostly Russian lineage who has offered to sell me a nuc in the spring. This allows me to bypass all of the bee importation requirements as my bee acquisition only requires an intrastate transfer.

Re: Bjorn Apiaries - Russian Bees

Mike, the owner of Bjorn Apiaries, was for a long time a prolific poster on this website. Although I never bought any bees from him, I do remember others who did, and all the reviews were very positive. He does not use chemical treatments but instead has built up his own line of survivor stock (without using small cell).
I would buy from him without hesitation.

"I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. " John 10:11

Re: Bjorn Apiaries - Russian Bees

Mike used to be a PA Apiary Inspector. Maybe he could just write a note to Delaware. Mike is active on beekeepingforums.com if anyone wants to communicate w/ him that way. Right panther passing in the night?